Papa
by FlamingFyre
Summary: "It was a baby boy, with chocolate-brown hair, and shining green eyes." Eren is sent to the Underground District as a worthless orphaned infant, his parents apparently killed while traveling in the Inner Walls. And when Isabel comes home one day with a baby in a basket, Levi can't help but take a liking to him. [Papa!Levi]
1. Chapter 1: The Baby

**Hey guys! So, I've been on this site thousands of times, and I've written a few fanfictions, but I have never actually published a proper one that I intended to continue. Until this. So yeah, it's gonna be crappy, and will probably have a horrible start.**

 **Just for you guys to understand, this is a Parental!Levi and Eren fic. Except Levi has known Eren since he was a baby, as in this story, Carla and Grisha had been attacked while traveling, leading Eren to be sent into the Underground (don't worry, Mikasa and Armin will still be pretty important here).**

 **This will probably have a lot of angst, a lot of guesswork, a lot of made-up stuff, a whole bunch of bad grammar and usage, and OOC-ness galore. Have fun reading this terrible piece of writing.**

* * *

 **Chapter One:**

Levi's life was just a cycle. A cycle of waking up, eating, scavenging, stealing, and sleeping. New things rarely occurred, and nothing shook this cycle.

There had been the occasional change, like finding some new 3DM-gear parts, the moving in of Isabel, maybe an occasional rare item at the marketplace, but nothing exciting ever happened. It was always the same routine.

Yep. Just a cycle.

* * *

Levi was currently walking down a street in the Underground District, on his way home. People nodded and parted way for him as he passed, some muttering "Good evening" and other pleasantries respectfully under their breath. The nineteen-year-old was well-known in the district for being strong, as well as fair. If you kept your manners with him, he would do the same for you. If you lashed out at him rudely, however, you would be lucky to go home with only a broken arm or leg.

He stretched as he walked, and checked his maneuver gear idly as he went. He had just finished a small heist, stealing a few fruits, a luxury at this time of the year. However, Levi was now rather far from home, and was exhausted. It had been a long day, and he was eager to get home and rest.

Slowly, the path began to empty as more and more people retreated into their houses to sleep. By the time Levi was in the close vicinity of his own home, there was only a small group of people around. They appeared to be crowded around a wrapped bundle in a box, probably food.

Levi simply rolled his eyes and kept walking past them. He had plenty of food now and was perfectly capable of getting some more later–

Levi stopped. He turned around slowly, narrowing his eyes as he moved. He had heard… _a baby's cry?_

The small group quickly huddled tighter around the bundle, looking swiftly around, and paling or feigning nonchalance when they noticed him.

Narrowing his eyes a bit more, Levi looked closer at the group. It had about five people, three women and two men. A woman in a green dress had picked up the bundle, and was pressing it to her chest, looking around with nervous, dancing eyes.

 _What kind of food would cry like a f*cking baby?_ He began walking towards the group. They had started whispering again, and had not noticed his short figure approaching.

" _Yes, someone just came and put him –" "- says they were killed, you say?" "No, that's impossible, how would he end up here?" "Like I said already, someone came –"_

"Excuse me," Levi said, tapping on a man's shoulder, "What are you doing this late out?"

The man jumped, and everyone took a visible, anxious step back. The green-dressed woman clutched the bundle tighter.

The man stammered, and hurried to answer, "N-nothing! We were just about to go back now –"

Another loud cry tore through the tense atmosphere, and the bundle shifted slightly. The woman looked frightened, and started trying to rock the bundle subtly. Everyone else tried to smile and act casually, failing utterly.

Levi saw and heard everything clearly, however, and stepped forward towards the woman, who was slowly taking a few steps back as he approached. When he reached towards the small, quivering bundle, the woman bent her knees as though she would run away. However, one quick, sharp glance silenced her, and she shakily held out the bundle, ignoring the other women's panicked glances and gestures.

Immediately snatching the bundle, Levi turned it around, and his eyes widened slightly. It was…a _child_. A small, chocolate-brown haired baby boy, perhaps around 5 or 6 months, with shining green eyes. However, right now, those green eyes were shining with tears.

Seeing Levi's hard, emotionless face seemed to be the last straw, and the baby started crying. It wasn't a very loud cry, however, more strangled gasps and breathless whimpers, and that broke the young man's heart a little.

He began to rock the child back and forth, combing his fingers through the soft hair, and softened his expression slightly. This calmed the boy down slightly, and he began to stare quietly up at the man holding him.

Levi looked up from the baby, and saw a variety of expressions in front of him. Fear, anxiety, a little anger at the woman in the green dress, but also, maybe, a little relief.

He looked at the man he had questioned in the beginning, and deadpanned, "He is obviously none of your children. Who is he, and where did you find him."

The man looked nervously at the rest of the group, and said, "W-well…he was given to us by a man. He barely told us anything, only his name and that he was German. He told us to take care of him, that something had happened to his parents while they were traveling, and as you know, orphans without known ties aren't usually cared for aboveground..."

Levi's anger flared slightly. Children who had no family and nowhere to live were often forced to live down in the Underground District if they were caught. It wasn't common, but wasn't rare for someone to go around with a child, trying to find them a place to live. It was one of the reasons why the Underground was filled with homeless orphans, and why he hated the people who lived above the stairs; they didn't have time for anyone but themselves.

"I see," he said simply, handing the child back to the woman. So they were trying to figure out what to do with the baby.

The woman took him gratefully, and tried to put the infant to sleep. Levi watched as the baby slowly closed his eyes, yawning and snuggling into the woman's dress. The others relaxed, and began to whisper once more about the child, and what to do with him.

Satisfied with what he saw, he turned back, and began walking home once more. As he opened the door, he was attacked by a young, redheaded girl named Isabel, who cried, "Big bro! You're home!" and was given a smile from a tall, blonde man by the name of Farlan, who shut the door behind him.

As he pried the young girl of him, and shrugged off him gear, he thought back to the baby boy with sparkling green eyes, and shook his head, already moving his thoughts to a quick dinner, and then sleep.

It was just another day as usual. Just another round in the cycle.

* * *

 **So what did you guys think? It would be great for you guys to point out any problems you have with this, so constructive criticism would be awesome.**

 **Thanks, and bye!**


	2. Chapter 2: Isabel's surprise

**Hey guys! So apparently, you guys really liked my first chapter. I am extremely grateful, like I can't even explain.**

 **So I wanted to explain something really quickly; so we don't know Isabel or Farlan's ages or birthdays right? Well, I made head canon ones, and I explained the current time here too (I want to make this story as close to the canon timeline as I can). If you know anything about the timeline or ages, please tell me!**

 **Eren- 6 months (Bday- 3/30)** **Levi- 19 years-old (Bday- 12/25)  
Farlan- 19 years-old (Bday- 10/17)** **Isabel- 15 (Bday- 2/3)** **Current time- (9/30)**

 **Also prepare for slow updates until summer (school sucks, I try okay ;-;), and slow progression. I believe in real life stuff don't just happen just like that, so I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible (excluding the giant naked cannibals and post-apocalyptic world).**

* * *

Days past, weeks past, and very soon, a month had past, and Levi had forgotten all about the child. It was only natural, and he had many other things to worry about. Like where the hell Isabel had gotten off to.

Looking up from his book, Levi turned to Farlan with an apathetic look, and deadpanned, "Isabel should be here now. Where the f*ck did she say she was going."

The blonde-haired man simply turned to Levi, and shrugged apologetically, "I don't know, she said she was just going to take half hour, to run a few errands…"

Though they acted as though nothing of importance had gone wrong, both men could sense the other's worry. After all, not too long ago, Isabel had come home beat-up with only one ponytail, muttering about some "low-life scumbags" …

Just as the two were about to go search for the lost girl, Isabel burst through the door, holding a basket in one hand, and a white, tied bundle in the other.

"Big Bro! I'm home!" she cried excitedly, running to the table and setting the basket and bundle down. However, before she could say another words, Farlan walked over to her, and began chewing her out.

"You can't just walk out of the house, saying you'll be gone only for 30 minutes, and then turn up 2 and half hours later!" Of course, the trio didn't have a clock, but they were pretty good at telling and estimating the time. "What if something happened to you? You have to be more careful!"

Isabel puffed out her cheeks in anger at this, and replied hotly, "Well, I was doing something important! And I was careful! I didn't do anything stupid!"

"Really," Farlan looked skeptical at this. "You came back not even a month ago practically half-dead and didn't tell us anything."

"But I'm _not_ half-dead this time-!"

"Oi." The arguing pair looked over at the man lounging on the couch. "Just tell us why the f*ck you were gone for so long."

Isabel brightened at this.

"Oh yeah!" she said happily, scrambling back over to the table. "So I just some more food, like we needed" – she opened the bundle and held it out – "I also got some milk too, and then, here's my favorite part."

She grabbed the basket, and hopped over to the couch, Farlan trailing curiously behind. She sat down next to Levi, and shoved the basket into his arms.

"Look inside!" she said, bouncing in her seat.

Levi raised one eyebrow, and looked down into the basket.

 _She did not_.

It was mostly filled with blankets, but at the top, the head of a sleeping baby was just visible. A baby with chocolate-brown hair, tan skin….and underneath those soft, long eyelashes, Levi could just make out a sliver of sea-green-

"Oh my god," Farlan gasped, mirroring Levi's thoughts exactly. "You got a _baby_?"

Isabel smiled proudly, not sensing Farlan's irritation. "Yep! His name's Eren, and-"

"They didn't find anyone else, so you decided to keep the green-eyed brat when they asked."

"Yeah!" Isabel said, waving her hands at the basket.

Farlan rubbed his head, and growled, "Isabel, we barely have enough as it is."

Isabel looked at him indignantly, and replied, "Well, I couldn't just _leave_ hi-"

"Yes! You could! What do you think we did with the others?"

Levi barely listened to their bickering, and continued to stare at the infant. It was the child from before, with those sharp eyes. He watched him stir slightly, and roll over slightly into a more comfortable position. As he reached a hand inside to stroke the baby's hair, he sighed and turned around to face the redhead.

"Isabel…you're going to have to give him back." Farlan's expression took on a superior look as he turned to the young girl he was arguing with.

Isabel's eyes widened, and she fidgeted nervously. "Ha-ha, well…They kinda threw him at me, and ran away right after… And I barely remember what they looked like…"

Farlan let out a frustrated sigh, and sat down at the kitchen table, and Levi's eyebrow quirked upwards again.

"I'm sorry…" Isabel said, embarrassed. "But…he's only a few months old! Most orphan kids can at least walk and talk. He can barely crawl!" She walked over to the basket and poked the baby's cheeks slightly. "And he's soooo cuuute~"

The baby woke up a little at Isabel's touch, and cooed. Levi had to admit, she was right, the infant _was_ adorable. But…

Levi looked up Farlan, who had changed his expression to one of defeat. He shrugged simply, and nodded his head slightly at the basket. _If you must._

"Fine then." Isabel's head shot up, and her eyes widened. "If you can take care of him, we'll keep him."

Isabel's jaw dropped, and she grinned widely. She let out a small squeal, and hugged the man hard. "THANK YOU BIG BRO!"

Her shout of joy had scared the baby slightly, and he began to whimper. Immediately, she let go of Levi, picked the child up, and rocked him until he was content again.

"So what's his name again?" The girl's head whipped towards the table, where Farlan was sitting, his chin resting on his hand.

She smirked slightly, but then smiled sincerely. "His name is Eren. Eren Jaegar. I think he's German, and they said something about him being around 6 months," she replied, grinning down at Eren.

After a few minutes of playing with the baby, and talking to Farlan, Isabel went to take some of the milk out, and put it in a small bottle with a soft, baby-friendly tip instead of a wide rim. As she started to feed Eren, she slowly walked to the bedroom, whispering quietly to him along the way. Farlan watched on with a soft smile, and then began to put the food away.

Levi watched all this, with a little smile of his own. Eren seemed to make Isabel more mature, and he seemed to be a rather good baby. Farlan also seemed to take a liking to Eren too.

Levi stood up, stretched, and smiled a bit wider. He could get used to this.

* * *

 **So once again, constructive criticism is awesome, spreading the word about the story is awesome, just reading the story is awesome, you are all awesome, and yeah.**

 **Also, SailorUmbreon and WingedNunumzofRa(she gave me the idea for this) are awesome people. You guys made my day-**

 **Ciao~!**


	3. Chapter 3: First Birthday

**Hey guys! No, I am NOT ignoring you guys. I just have no time ;;. School is finishing up soon, finals are hectic, yeah. So, I'm probably gonna stay to updating really slowly until like late June. Sorry 'bout that, hehe~**

 **Also, for the next few chapters, I'll be using the manga. Yes, I know you can find it easily online, but my cousin has the book, and that's always better (she better give it to me. She'll be reading this, so ya better remember. Kay? Kay.)**

 **One more thing. So there is going to be a couple of issues, like how does Eren become a titan shifter and Shiganshina and the Shiganshina Trio and stuff. I'll get to that, don't worry. More importantly, LeviHan, or no? I like LeviHan, but its not important whether its more family than romantic so meh.**

 **So without further ado, I present chapter three! (I don't own Aot/Snk, otherwise we'd get more backstory and LESS PEOPLE WOULD DIE-)**

* * *

Eren was a good, easy-to-care-for child. He slept through the night (probably from lonely nights for no one to rock him), ate well, and didn't cry often. Even when he _did_ cry, he was easily calmed by Isabel, Farlan, or Levi.

The trio became fiercely protective of their little charge, and he quickly became a priority. Eren grew up quickly and healthily with all their fussing, and proved to be a great motivation. Running low on food? Buy food, or Eren will get hungry. Dirty home? Clean up, or Eren will get sick. Staying away from home for too long? Hurry, or there would be no one to watch Eren.

Little surprises came along the way, from Eren starting to grab everything in reach (leading to Levi baby-proofing the entire apartment), to eating mushed food, to giving the trio their own separate baby-babble names (Isabel was nene for Isabel-nee-chan, Farlan was Fah-ni for Farlan-nii, and Levi was Vi. Isabel found it adorable), to saying his first words ("Clean!"). He could answer with little phrases, with words like "No!" and "too. At this point, Eren was practically their tiny, adorable pet.

The trio passed their own milestones as well. Farlan turned 20 in mid-October, Levi turned 20 on Christmas Eve, and Isabel turned 16 in the beginning of February (and her favorite present ended up being Eren's first steps).

Most of their days were spent either taking of Eren, or stealing food or money. However, everyone could agree that it was more fun caring for the baby, and definitely more relaxing.

While Isabel enjoyed feeding and playing with Eren, and Farlan preferred telling him stories, Levi particularly enjoyed teaching the brat more important things – like cleaning. He would always hold the baby in one arm as he cleaned, explaining what each tool did and how to use it. He even gave Eren a duster from time to time to swipe on a table in imitation of Levi dusting the shelves or corners of the ceiling.

Another thing Levi enjoyed doing with Eren was humming little lullabies his own mother had sung to him as a child, most of them in French. Of course, he did this when he thought no one was looking or listening – though, he he might've heard Farlan once say, "My stories are better than Levi's lullabies, right?"

As Eren got bigger (and cuter, as Isabel said proudly), his first birthday began to near. However, no one knew his birthday, so Farlan decided that March 30, 6 months after they had taken the baby in, would be his birthday, and Isabel set to preparations enthusiastically.

"Heeeeey, Big Bro!" Isabel said, waving some paper around. It was the night before Eren's birthday and it was Isabel's "Duty as a good NeNe!" to decorate. "Should I fold the paper into little birds and flowers, or should I make paper rings to hang up?"

Levi looked up from wrapping his present for Eren, a small, adjustable necklace with two bird feathers at the end. He pointed at Isabel's small model of her folded birds, and replied, "The birds look better. You should make a whole bunch, and place them around the room."

Isabel cried, "Okay!" and set to work folding paper into birds and other odd, whimsical shapes.

There was a peaceful silence between the three, until Farlan piped up from the kitchen, where he was making a birthday treat for Eren, "You know what would be cool?"

"Eh? What?" Isabel turned curiously to Farlan, and Levi glanced up once more from his work.

"If we had _real_ cake." His eyes became slightly dreamy at this. "Like not just honey or sweet bread and fruit, like _actual_ cake. The kind that's really hard to make, with a lot of sugar, and that thing called vanilla…"

"Oooh!" Isabel began to bounce up and down. "With that creamy, buttery stuff at the top? What's it called again…Frosting! With frosting!"

Farlan turned to the girl, and nodded his head, "Yeah! Like that!" He looked back down at the syrup he was making. "I remember; I had cake once. It was soft…and sweet…and the frosting just melted in your mouth…"

Isabel slumped forward onto the table, now gloomy, and muttered, "I wish I had frosting cake before," and looked angrily up at the ceiling. "I bet kids up there," – she pointed up – "have cake for all their birthdays…"

They pair silenced, and the mood became a bit dimmer. Levi silently stood up, and placed his present on the table, next to Isabel's bright flower ring, and Farlan's picture book. As he looked down, he pondered Isabel's words. _Other kids probably get cake_ every day. _If only we could treat Eren that way…_

The sad silence continued, and Levi went to the bedroom, escaping the stifling quiet in the room. Walking silently, he eased open the door, and peeked inside.

Eren was too big for his basket now, and he was too small for one of the bigger beds. To fix this, Farlan had brought home a large crate, and Isabel had filled it with as many blankets and rags as she could find. This makeshift cradle wasn't perfect, but Eren liked it, and he slept soundly within the folds of his blankets.

Levi crept up to the cradle, and sat down next to it. He poked the baby's soft, chubby cheeks, and petted his hair. Eren stirred, moving unconsciously towards Levi's touch, and let out a small puff of breath. Levi's lips quirked upwards, and he retracted his hand.

He stood up, and walked silently back to the door, smiling softly all the while. As he went, he wordlessly began picking up scraps of trash along the way, and started to search for a broom. He had a lot to clean tonight.

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Eren!" Isabel squealed, swinging the baby around happily.

Eren reached out towards her, giggling. It was his big day, and Eren was finally a full-year old.

 _They grow so fast_. Levi let out a small chuckle himself, looking at their antics. They were both covered in little scraps of papers, as Isabel had thrown some around while playing with the baby. It was causing a mess, but who cared. It was Eren's birthday, and it wasn't every day you turned a year old.

Farlan set down his fruit cake, and laughed as well. "So, Eren's officially been with us for 6 months. Who would've thought we'd actually keep him for so long?"

Levi could remember when Isabel had first brought Eren with her, and even remembered the day he first saw the baby. He was amazed that Eren, who he hadn't been so intent on keeping at first, had become so important to their little family.

"Uh-huh! One day, Eren's gonna be big and strong, and will be flying around with us too!" Isabel said, holding Eren up to simulate flying in the air. "And then one day," – her green eyes looked determinedly at Eren's similar ones – "we're gonna go up the stairs, and be free."

Eren waved his arms happily, and cried, "Free!". Isabel grinned, and pulled him into a hug, squishing his cheeks against hers. She stood up, carrying the baby over to Farlan and Levi, and sat down with Eren in her lap. "So, now for your cake!"

Levi watched Eren open his mouth, and eat the small pieces of sweet bread and fruit pieces Isabel popped into his mouth. He picked up a napkin, and wiped Eren's face, cleaning it of stray crumbs, sticky syrup and juice. Eren sneezed a little when Levi cleaned his face, and giggled up at the older man.

"Vi!" He said, reaching out to Levi.

Levi took the baby from Isabel, and set him on his lap. He picked up a napkin, and tied it loosely around Eren's neck, and made sure that he didn't make too much of a mess. Even if Levi didn't care about how clean it was at the moment, there were still limits.

The trio all took pieces of the cake, and they sat together on the couch, squeezing a little to make space for each other. Isabel and Farlan chatted amiably, while Levi entertained the birthday boy. They made for a sweet picture together; a group of friends, squished together, talking and caring for the little boy in the center on the dark-haired man's lap. Many a family would envy how close they were, and how they managed to go by so easily with the barest necessities.

They celebrated happily, with many hugs and lots of laughter, and soon enough, the youngest two began to yawn and nod off. By the time everything was set and put away, Isabel and Eren had curled up together on the couch, sleeping peacefully. Farlan and Levi carried the exhausted pair back to bedroom, Isabel snoring softly into Farlan's shoulder, and Eren tucked into the safety of Levi's arms.

Tucking the two into bed, and getting ready to sleep was a quick affair, and after brushing his teeth, Levi went to his own cot to sleep. Very quickly, Farlan's own snores overtook Isabel's light ones, and Levi was the only one left awake. He stared up at the ceiling as he lay in bed, thinking.

This was his family. Isabel, Farlan, and now little Eren too. Levi didn't often think about things like this, but he felt grateful for once. In the Underground, not many had a family, and no matter how hard their life was, not many people were as well off as he and little family was. It was an easy life, nor a great life, but it was enough for now. Of course, the thought of living aboveground was always there, and Levi would always want more than anything, but for the time being, they were good. They could continue like this for now. It was enough.

* * *

 **Aaaand, done! As always, constructive criticism is awesome, tell me your thoughts, and whether you were displeased by something. I'll fix it don't worry. Also, since this fic needs the manga starting next chapter, I might start a new one so I won't get rusty with my writing skills. Also because I like writing. It is ART! (whoever understands that reference, AYYYY HETALIAN FRIEND!). And yeah.**

 **Ciao!**


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